Author - Chuck G.

Storage Wars

Storage Wars: Season 4, Episode 13: “The French Job.”

Auction held in Laguna Niguel, California.

Calvin got a traffic ticket. Barry was disqualified. Harris brothers bought a locker just to buy.

Jarrod bought a locker for a toy. Barry came back to the storage facility incognito.

They’re all nuts!

Guest appearances by Ivy Calvin and Mark & Matt Harris.

Absent were Darrell Sheets and Brandon.

Ivy lost his way on the drive to the storage auction and incurred a traffic ticket for using his cell phone while driving, which amounted to a $300 fine! Ouch.

Barry invited Elan, a French photographer, to do a photo essay of the storage auction. Does Barry speak French? Uh, no. Photographer’s English, not too good.

1^st Storage Unit
UGH-mania! Two boxes and a speaker. Unit neither half-full nor half-empty, it was just empty.

Barry: Even Elan understands the international language of crap.

Who was dumb enough to buy this locker? Harris brothers at $170! They balked in the interview room about taking risk. This was not a risk. This was a dumb and dumber move. I expect more from the refined twins.

What did they find? Crap! A power saw, small flood light, small camcorder, one speaker, and trash. They broke even, but they overpaid for the locker from the get-go, no thanks to Ivy.

2^nd Storage Unit
Cheap furniture, computer desk, chairs, boxes, and up front and center a scooter. Brandi moaned when she saw the motor toy.

Brandi: The minute Jarrod sees a scooter, he turns into a ten-year-old.

Did Jarrod win the storage unit? Need you ask? For $750. Brandi stressed to find something of value because that scooter would not make it to their thrift store.

Jarrod found detailing equipment and supplies, but it was several boxes of yo-yo’s that would get them out of the hole. Couple went to a toy store. Once there Brandi rethought the situation.

Brandi: Taking Jarrod to a toy store is a big mistake because he’s a giant child.

Mistake or not they were graced to meet yo-yo champion Paul Yath. He stated that yo-yo’s were first invented in the Philippines as hunters would use them to attack prey.

Paul evaluated the collection and found yo-yo’s he’s never seen before. Good news for Jarrod and Brandi. Entire collection, still in original packaging, valued at over $2,000.

3^rd Storage Unit
Single tall, safe. It had an electronic face, so definitely a newer model. Barry slipped his arm past the threshold to check if the handles of the safe would move. Dan Dotson grabbed Barry from behind. Got-cha!

DISQUALIFIED!

He broke the rules. Don’t touch anything inside the locker. As if that would prevent Barry from participating in the auction. He had his French pal proxy bid for him. That irked Ivy to no end, but in the end, Frenchy won the unit at $600.

Barry returned to the facility dressed in black. He wore a fake mustache and beret on his head. Like a bad “B” movie French cat burglar, he snuck up on his own unit.

I now understand why Nabila calls the cast a “traveling circus.”

Barry was determined to crack the safe himself, like they do in the movies. He used a stethoscope. Nope. Hammer and nail. Nope. Blow torch. Uh, what?! But, Barry, that will ruin the…

Too late. He melted the digital face of the safe. Smart move, Barry. Safe cracker came and opened the vault and guess what, yep, it was empty.

Profit Scorecard:

Jarrod Schulz: $1,750
Harris Brothers: $0 – broke even
Ivy Calvin: Traffic Ticket LOSS -$300
Barry Weiss: loss -$600

Leave your interesting and creative responses in the comments section below.

How Much Should You Spend on Your First Online Storage Unit?

June 4, 2013

Online Storage Auctions

How much you should spend on your first online storage unit depends on how much you can afford to lose.

I know that’s not what you want to hear.

But entering into any new business venture, whether for fun or as a supplemental income, you must have “seed” money available over and above your monthly budget.

That overage is the money you can “afford” to lose.

A guesstimate on how much to spend on your first storage unit online maybe between $100-$300, again, this depends on your income and what’s left after your monthly bills.

Buying a locker online is easy.
Hard part is reselling your merchandise.

Before you bid on any online storage unit, first answer these questions:

Do you frequently host yard or garage sales?
Do you frequently sell at flea markets or swap meets?
Do you frequently sell on eBay?
Do you frequently sell on Craigslist?

If you answered “No” to all four questions, then the best advice to give you is to buy an online storage unit at the low end, from $50-$100.

You will then face the challenge of reselling merchandise without ANY experience. Wisdom dictates to keep your spending to a minimum.

Take it slow and don’t blow all your “extra” cash.

If you answered “YES” to at least two of the questions above, then buying your first storage unit online for around $200-$300 might be just about right for you.

The challenge for you will be to learn how to resell items you did not previously own or would not choose to own. What you find in a storage unit is a mystery until you dig through each and every box.

You may not like the thought of finding a box full of drills and tools; or a box full of women’s clothing. Not trying to be gender bias here, but you get what you get in a storage unit and you must be “willing” to sell it all.

Say it with me – SELL EVERYTHING!

So how much should you spend on a storage unit online?

I have to then ask you – “How much time and effort will you put into reselling your merchandise?”

Buying is easy.
Reselling is hard.

Keep that in mind when you buy your first online storage unit.

Please leave your thoughtful insights in the comment box below.

Understand the Sizes of Storage Units up for Auction

May 31, 2013

Do you understand the different sizes of storage units up for auction?

It may be difficult for some to judge the height, width or depth of a storage unit through a photograph.

However, if you have a good understanding of the different sizes of storage units; how much each size can hold in merchandise, this will help you decide which online units you’d like to bid on and win.

Here are the basic sizes of storage units and what they can hold:

5×5 = 25sq.ft. – Size of a Half Closet

Store a small chest of drawer, or mattress box set, or any small furniture piece along with several small boxes and small personal items. Without furniture the locker stores about 35 standard file boxes.

Can hold the contents of a 4×8 trailer.

5×10 = 50sq.ft. – Size of a Regular Walk-In Closet

Store about a mid-size bedroom or living room furniture; along with a few boxes. This would include a sofa, couches, mattress set, TV, clothing, and small items. Without furniture locker stores about 85 standard file boxes.

Can hold the contents of a pick-up truck or cargo van.

10×10 = 100sq.ft. – Size of an Average Size Bedroom

Store 1-2 full bedrooms, or an entire family room, or the furnishings of a 1-bedroom apartment; plus a washer & dryer, refrigerator, boxes and small items. Without furniture locker stores about 170 standard file boxes.

Can hold the contents of a 15ft. moving van.

10×15 = 150sq.ft. – Size of a Large Bedroom

Store a 2 bedroom apartment or a small house with major appliances or even large items such as pianos and large-screen TVs; plus boxes and small items. Without furniture locker stores about 290 standard file boxes.

Can hold contents of a 20ft. moving van.

10×20 = 200sq.ft. – Size of Small One Car Garage

Store up to a 3-5 bedroom apartment or house including major appliances, boxes, personal items, and can hold a car or truck.

Can hold contents of a 24ft. moving van.

10×30 = 300sq.ft. – Size of a 1 ½ – 2 Car Garage

Store a 4-5 bedroom house with major appliances; patio furniture, lawn equipment, boxes and personal items; or can hold a car, small truck or small boat.

Can hold contents of a 40ft. moving van.

This overview of the sizes of storage units should help you understand what can “fit” inside the lockers and what type of vehicle you will need to move the merchandise out of the lockers.

Don’t be fooled by big storage units and don’t discount the small storage units.

Take a good look at each online photo and know the size of the storage unit up for auction to assess if you have the wherewithal to move the items.

Now you have a good understanding of the basic storage unit sizes sold at storage auctions.

Good luck!

Please leave your insightful opinions in the comment box below.

Intimidator or Stealth Bidder

May 28, 2013

Yuuup!

Famous catch word by the infamous Dave Hester, a former cast member of the reality television series Storage Wars.

At any storage auction you may find two types of bidders: Intimidator or Stealth.

Dave was an intimidator.

He wanted you to know he had money and lots of it.

Hester would bid up a locker, not because he wanted to win, but because he could. Guess what? Everybody knew it.

How would becoming an intimidator bidder benefit you?

Scares off the newbies and the insecure bidders, which leaves the professional storage hunters to compete against you for the storage units.

You’ll quickly develop a reputation as someone who buys lockers or bids up the competition.

Hester wasn’t the only one who made his presence known at an auction in a reality series. In Storage Wars: Texas there were three cast members ready to shout their phrase:

Lesa Lewis – Bring it!
Victor Rjesnjansky – Right here!
Ricky Smith – Yah!

Do note that the intimidator bidders don’t always win.

Stealth or quiet bids can be so inconspicuous, it may go unnoticed by the crowd. Two cast members from Storage Wars have perfected the art of the stealth bid. Darrell Sheets raises both eyebrows. Nabila Hannis stands in the back and gives a gentle nod to the auctioneer.

Only you can decide which type of bid, intimidator or stealth, will work for you.

To become an intimidator bidder you may need a catch phrase or word that will identify you as a force to be reckoned with. That catch word or phrase will tag you with a fierce reputation.

While it’s not entirely necessary to have a catch phrase, imagine yourself at a storage auction. A guy who wears sunglasses and nods may win every locker, but he will not scare you off from bidding.

Someone who constantly shouts out “Bring it!” may however may annoy you. See where this is going? You may tire of hearing that catch phrase over and over, from auction to auction, as it weeds out bidders even before the auction begins.

“Oh no, not THAT person, again!”

To become a stealth bidder you need to approach the auctioneer first at any auction. Let he/she know you are interested in bidding and let them know “how” you will bid during that auction.

A wink. A nod. A stomp. A tap on your chest. A stroke on your beard. Whatever it may be, just make sure you stand where the auctioneer can see you.

Any good auctioneer will look for your stealth bid once he/she is made aware.

You stay under the radar. How does this help? You can up a bid, make people spend money on lockers you don’t want without anyone knowing but the auctioneer.

You can win a locker without the crowd knowing and have a helper put a padlock on the unit for you as you move on to the next auction. Once the crowd leaves you can always return and clean out your unit.

It’s the quiet ones you may have to worry about more than the loud ones.

Let the competition know who you are or don’t.

Whether you’re an intimidator or stealth bidder, the goal is to win a storage unit and turn a profit. Bid whichever way works best for you in the long run.

Please leave your insightful opinions in the comment box below.

10 Questions to Ask before a Storage Auction

May 28, 2013

Do you know what questions to ask a storage facility manager before a scheduled storage auction begins?

Bet you thought all you needed to do was drive up to the storage facility, park, and then blend in with the crowd. That’s what the cast members of Storage Wars do, but don’t forget, that’s a reality television series.

It’s not the real world.

There are some very basic questions you need to ask the storage facility manager, so get there early.

1. First call to make sure the number of storage units are still up for auction. Without notice, 5 units that were scheduled for auction could suddenly drop down to 1 unit or none. It happens time and time again.

2. Ask about the size of the storage units up for auctions. A 5×5 storage unit is only 25 sq. ft. Very small, maybe holds a few boxes and small furniture. A 10×10 storage unit however is 100 sq. ft and can hold up to two bedrooms. See the difference?

3. Ask if the units up for auction are indoors or outdoors. If it’s an indoor unit, make sure you have a way to move the merchandise, especially if the locker’s located on the second floor. Outdoor lockers are easier to load items onto a truck or trailer.

4. Ask if the storage facility is climate controlled. People who care about their stuff will pay a little extra to store their items in this type of facility. Also means you probably won’t run into any stinky lockers.

5. Ask about the cleaning deposit and sales tax. Deposit will be refunded to you after you clean out your locker. But you need to know the exact amount to bring the extra cash. Sales tax is monies you won’t recoup and you’ll need have on hand over and above what you pay for the unit(s) and the cleaning deposit.

6. Ask if you may have a little extra time to remove all of the merchandise. This is important if you bought a huge locker or several lockers.

7. Ask how long the unit was rented for. This will help you understand what may be stored inside. For instance, a locker rented for a year then defaulted; it’s probable you won’t find antiques. However, a locker rented for 5-10 years then defaulted, you may find collectibles.

8. Ask about the type of tenants who rented the lockers. Elderly folk. Middle-class couple. College student. Do you see how you immediately get an image in your head what could be inside that storage unit?

9. Ask about the average size of the crowd at that facility during storage auctions. Some storage facilities are more popular due to their location, others not so much. Day of the week or time of day of the auction may also affect how many people will show up to that facility.

10. Ask who the auctioneer will be at the storage auction. You may have a rapport with a few auctioneers and others may irk you. Or, you may find favoritism to certain bidders with some auctioneers.

Knowledge is power.

The more informed you are about the storage units sizes, average crowds, past tenants, cleaning deposit fee, sales tax, and so on; you will become more “selective” to which storage auctions you attend as to not waste your time.

Time is your more valuable asset.

Ask the storage facility manager as many questions as they are willing to answer to help you decide if that storage auction is worth your time and money.

Please leave your insightful opinion in the comment box below.

Storage Wars: Girl Cat Fight Brandi vs. Casey!

May 28, 2013

Storage Wars

9 Comments

Storage Wars: Season 4, Episode 11: “Orange You Glad Dan Sold it Again.”

Girl cat fight!!!

Brandi’s pissed that the new girl Casey tried to out bid her. Brandi lunged at Casey. The two rolled around on the ground and… no, wait… I think I imagined that.

Here’s what really happened.

Auction was held in Burbank, California.

Guest appearance by Herb Brown and Mike Karlinger. First appearance by Rene and Casey Nezhoda. Absent were Darrell Sheets and Brandon.

Regular players huddled with the Dotsons before auction. New players Rene and Casey joined the group. Dan introduced Rene as a big buyer from San Diego. Rene boasted how they recently opened a new store and currently owned about a dozen thrifts stores.

Jarrod: I think I don’t like this guy.

Rene then continued to rattle on how he does not need to advertise. They average 200-300 people a day. He said that they were like the Nordstrom of thrift stores.

Jarrod: Yep, it’s official. I definitely don’t like this guy.

1st Storage Unit
Small 5×5 locker packed suitcase, wall art, boxes, lamp, bags, and an old trunk. Barry and Rene battled.

At $700 Dan said, “Sold!” Barry refuted and told Dan he was still in it. On the show, I did not see Barry raise the bid because his focus was on Rene.

Dan continued the auction.

Haven’t seen that before.

Sold means sold. But Rene didn’t refute and continued with the auction against Barry who shut him down at a $1,500 bid.

Old trunk contained an old cobbler’s kit, which is a shoe maker’s wooden tool set. Trunk made of leather dated back to the 1930s. Kit valued at $800. Barry sold the kit and trunk to the appraiser for $1,000.

2nd Storage Unit
Untouched for eleven years. Movie studio equipment, neon signs, mattresses, refrigerator, skis, vintage bicycle, and hundreds of vinyl records. And I means hundreds!

Jarrod and Brandi agreed on a $2k cap. She told him good luck with that. But it was Brandi who would crazy bid on this locker.

Rene vs. Jarrod and the bid quickly rose to $2,000. Jarrod pulled back. Casey took over for Rene. Oh no, new girl, you did not just bid against Brandi’s man.

Brandi: I can’t believe I’m saying this, but screw the cap.

Brandi jumped in. Bid rose in $50 increments and f-a-s-t! Up to $2,500 to $3,000 to $3,500 and climbing.

Errrrrooww!

Cat fight!

Okay, it wasn’t a real girl cat fight, but dang, you could feel the heat between Brandi and Casey. They wouldn’t stop bidding against each other!

Brandi: Little Miss too-old-for-those-tiny-shorts thinks she can knock me out? Uh, no.

But at $4,000 Jarrod had to cut Brandi off. Casey won the locker at an outrageous price. I understand the need to get in the game, but don’t let the game get to you.

Rene and Casey dug through their locker. Old compressor, generator, ten 1975 Spite bottles, 1951 Park Sherman clock, box full of 1985 brand new baseball cards, and several vintage rotary telephones.

I will give credit to Rene that he did not inflate his assessment of the value of items. Not like other players do. I’ll give him that.

Next day Jarrod and Brandi drove to another storage auction at Riverside, California. Herb and Mike, bottom-feeders, were present.

3rd Storage Unit
Mountain of clothes mess. Some furniture, boxes and rubber containers. Jarrod vs. Herb.

You would think Jarrod who desperately needs to fill the shelves of his store would outbid the guppies, but no. I think the mountain of clothes scared him off. Herb won the locker at $575.

Herb and Mike dug through the unit, found a few collectibles but only one item of value: Ward’s Orange Crush soda pump along with two vintage Orange Crush glasses.

Ceramic soda pump in near pristine condition, which was amazing because it dated back to the 1920s. Appraiser stated there may only be 75 left of this type of soda pump in America. He valued the items at $1,200. Guppies got lucky.

Profit Scorecard:

Herb Brown & Mike Karlinger: $1,125
Rene Nezhoda & Casey Nezhoda: $910
Barry Weiss: LOSS -$443
Jarrod Schulz & Brandi Passante: $0

What do I think about the new players Rene and Casey?

Please leave your insightful opinions in the comment box below.

Use Social Networks to Resale

May 25, 2013

You love Facebook.

You hate Facebook.

In October of 2012 Facebook garnered 1 billion active users per month!

Facebook has over 50% of global users on its network.

Google+ streams ahead past Twitter to over 30% of the global market. YouTube and Twitter at over 20%.

You want to know, “What does this have to do with storage auctions?”

Resell!

If you do not own a thrift store, it is common place to resell your merchandise by holding your own yard or garage sales; or attend swap meets or flea markets. You probably resell items online on eBay or Craigslist, too.

Now it’s time to expand into the viral world of social networking.

For example, just this past week one of my Facebook friends mentioned he had a belt buckle given to him by a crew member from the television series Quantum Leap (1989-1993). Within minutes that belt buckle was sold!

Quick response time for resale compared to posting an item on eBay for 3-10 days. Not to mention the emails you must answer, as well as listing and selling fees you must pay.

You can mention an item on Social Networks for FREE!

Mobile phones and Tables the latest trend to tweet, watch videos, share articles, or just comment on your daily activities.

Maybe you’re ambitious; set up your own Facebook store with an e-commerce app:

Big Commerce SocialShop
EcWid
LunarMods
Moluko
Muncom
NorthSocial
Shopify
Shop Tab
Shoutlet
StorefrontSocial
StoreYa
TabJuice
TabSite
Vendorshop

Or a Twitter store with an e-commerce app:

AmexSync
Chirpify
Paywiththattweet

You can however keep it simple and place merchandise up for sale on a Facebook album as not to spam your Facebook friends.

But first you must build a following.

Use the search bar on the social network you want to use as an outlet to resell your merchandise. Let’s say you have a lot of vintage clothing from storage lockers you’ve won. Search “vintage clothing” and start to “friend” people.

Or search broad: yard sales, antique stores, thrift stores, collectibles, swap meets, etc. Potential buyers who don’t care for Craigslist or even eBay will communicate through social network sites.

The world has gone mobile and viral, so should you.

Please leave your insightful opinions in the comment box below.

How to Snipe Bid at Online Auctions

May 24, 2013

Online Storage Auctions

1 Comment

Do you know how to snipe at an online auction?

Sniping is a stealth, 11^th hour, to-the-very-last-second bid with a maximum proxy amount.

Sniping takes patience.

Real live storage auctions the bids accumulate during a very short time frame. Within a matter of minutes, actually. The Storage unit is then sold. Off to the next unit.

Online storage auction bidding is more of a waiting game. Sure, some newbie nut will start the bid and some other newbie nut will raise the bid on the first few days of an online storage auction.

The winner however most likely won’t place a bid until the 11^th hour, meaning the last few possible seconds, and he/she will place only one single bid.

You read that correctly – only one bid.

Here’s how to snipe bid at online auctions.

Sift through all of the storage units you see on VirtualStorageAuction site until you find a locker in your city that appeals to you.

Click on the photo.

Notice the “Auction Ends” and “Time Left” on the page. Click on “Watch List” to keep an eye when the auction is near its end.

Be sure to get online at least 30 minutes before the end of the auction. One note, be sure you are aware of how fast your internet connection is and that you do not lag or monitor freezes during the online auction. This is important!

Now to snipe…

Log-in to your account 5 minutes before the auction is about to end.
Wait until it’s 1-minute to end of auction before you enter your maximum bid in the field box, however DO NOT click on “Place Bid” – at this point you just need to have your bid in the field box.
At 2-5 seconds to end of auction, click on – “Place Bid.”

I know that’s nerve wrecking, your heart’s racing, you’re sweating, but that’s how sniping works. I’ve won many online auctions on eBay by playing the waiting game.

I usually place a single maximum bid within the last 2-3 seconds at the end of an online auction.

I’ve only been outbid a few times when I’ve sniped, but that’s okay because I placed my maximum bid for the product. Someone else thought to pay more. Fine by me.

I once made the rookie mistake of trying to snipe 5 minutes before the end of an online auction. Remember, that one bid was set to my maximum amount. I quickly became the highest bidder before a minute left to end of the auction.

Not good!

That was way too early. Someone sniped within that last few seconds of that auction and won.

Sniping takes patience.

There are two benefits of sniping at auctions.

You and other snipe bidders like you will keep the amount of the bid down during the entire online auction.
You swoop in the last few seconds and win the locker at a better price than if you raise the bid daily.

Once you snipe bid a locker within the last 1-3 seconds and win, you will discover the secret to “How to win at online auctions.”

Patience.
Snipe.
Win!

Please leave your creative opinions in the comment box below.

Storage Wars: Profit Donate

May 14, 2013

Storage Wars